Saturday, March 8, 2014

Cardinal Dolan Publicly Blasts Homosexuality as Sin

Cardinal Dolan has stepped up with his own "who am I to judge" moment. Some sports figure has apparently boasted about his homosexual predilections, and Dolan said, "Good for him!" on Meet the Press.

Do we really need to go so far as to approve of sodomy? Why not have somebody in the Vatican draft a standard response, since these questions are going to keep coming up?

"The Church does not publicly comment on the moral decisions of individuals." That took me all of about six seconds. ($10,000 ought to cover the consulting fee.) I am assuming the Church is long past the point where it is willing to actually take a stand when faced with such a question. Then Cardinal Dolan could say, "Hey, you know, I understand the interest, but the Church has a policy that we just don't comment on the moral decisions of individuals." Of course, there may already be a policy, and Cardinal Dolan may have followed it.

It's funny to imagine Cardinal Dolan saying "Good for him!" in different situations where you know it just wouldn't happen.

a scholar points out that the Church has taught infallibly that there is no salvation outside the Church.

a layman states that the Church must evangelize non-Christians, including Moslems.

a well-known politician claims that the war on poverty has been an abject failure and policies relying on the redistribution of wealth should be eliminated.

a different politician demands that we make securing our borders a priority and repatriating illegal aliens to their countries of origin.

an expert in pedophilia states all available evidence demonstrates conclusively that the Church experienced a homosexual priest abuse problem, not a pedophilia crisis.

anything the Bear writes.

None of the above are sins. In fact, with the possible exception of the last, they are at the very least arguably meritorious. Yet, I cannot imagine Cardinal Dolan saying "Good for him!" about any of them. Not that he should, but that's not the point. Yet a jock boasts of a serious sin and the Cardinal feels he has to support him? We're already burning the pinch of incense at the world's altar and it looks like Cardinal Dolan's at the front of the line. It was supposed to go the other way, remember?

Bear's mood: discouraged and angry. The Church should be the cure for sin, not the cause of it. I do have a new label though. "Catholic FAIL." Lock up your horses tonight.

Best possible spin: Dolan has built a career as a glad-handing booster. He probably never imagined he would have to deal with these sorts of questions. He got put on the spot, flashed to "Who am I to judge?" and responded in the only vocabulary he knows. "Good for him!" He should come back Monday with a press release that states the Church's teaching, not meaning to comment on any individual's moral choices, whatever. Right now he just looks PWN'd.